if you have a nex (or m4/3rds, you can find this same package on ebay) and you want more shallow DoF and are a cheap ass get this lens. also comes with macro rings, making it a cheap general purpose lens, plus it's the smallest 50mm equiv you can get!http://www.amazon.com/RainbowImaging...8651817&sr=8-1

here's a photo and video example. Video is at f1.7, photo is like f3.5

I made a ghetto paper flash bounce.
Basically, it was the night before EXPcon and I forgot that I wanted to buy a soft-box diffuser. So I decided to make this, as going raw flash was unacceptable.
It started off as 2 pieces of 11x14 watercolor paper (its double layered for strength), cut, folded, stapled and taped together. Then coated on the outside with some flat black spray paint. It worked well enough, but it does put the flash up rather high, which may or may not be a good thing.

In the past week or so I've been doing quite a bit of DIY for videos as my friend and I are readying up to film a new comedy show

So far I've built:

2 lighting rigs

These were built using two standard camera tripods as bases with the screw threads removed and replaced with longer ones so they are permentaly fixed to the quick release base, meaning the lights can be rasied and tilted slightly if required.
Built using hardboard covered in tin foil for the sides and MDF for the back, each have 4 baton bulb holders fitted with 60W halogen bulbs and are plugged into a dimmer unit so you can vary the amount of light, or just quickly change the bulbs

Also built a boom mic

Already had the external microphone. Took two legs off an old cheap tripod and the middle section from the 3rd leg to connect the two ends together, drill and place two screws through to hold either end to the middle piece. Bought a cheap shoe adapter off amazon, screwed it to one end to hold the microphone then bought a 5m long male-female jack cable to connect the microphone to the camera

Here it is a full length

Next project is a smallish dolly track that can sit on the floor or fasten onto my tripod

Those are great stuff Angus, I'll be trying to check out your light recipe.

Go for it, they'll fantastic for the purpose, only alteration I would make if I were you is not to make the reflectors so big coming forward, I was using long tube energy savers at first and was guessing the sizes. Then switched to normal halogens so I could fit a dimmer. At the moment they are quite heavy, I did fit an L shape bracket to try and shift some of the weight towards the back but still, you can not tilt the light head too far forward but in fairness there is not much need to.

If anyone wants any pointers or a clearer idea how I built mine just give us a shout

Go for it, they'll fantastic for the purpose, only alteration I would make if I were you is not to make the reflectors so big coming forward, I was using long tube energy savers at first and was guessing the sizes. Then switched to normal halogens so I could fit a dimmer. At the moment they are quite heavy, I did fit an L shape bracket to try and shift some of the weight towards the back but still, you can not tilt the light head too far forward but in fairness there is not much need to.

If anyone wants any pointers or a clearer idea how I built mine just give us a shout

More than likely. You'll probably still have to fit a thick, solid background to it since I am not sure how stable a salad bowl would be with lights fittings in one and and a bracket screwed in the back

Are these metal pipes or PVC?, looks well made Ohfoohy. How's the DSLR holding onto it?

PVC

The only problem I'm having with it (and still trying to solve) is mounting the camera and keeping it tight. If you set the camera on the screw, and turn it, when it gets tight enough the cap to the PVC pipe will just turn with it. But if you put the nut up to the camera, and you tighten everything down well, then it works great. Super solid, no signs of the screw giving out or anything. I would recommend looking into a different mounting method, such as a quick release plate.

yeah but screw paying fiddy bucks for it
I can just make it with a few parts like a 555 timer and some potentiometers, all I need is the connector which I can get from a $5 shutter cord or get a prop-to-2.5mm somewhere